Tag: career paths

As intelligent people we’re expected to do well. It’s actually fantastic that we have such a supportive network around us: all the people who care about us and take an interest in our success. When we were starting out, they set high expectations for us. They created the conditions to help us flourish and reach our full potential. We can feel blessed by that.

But there’s an important difference between encouragement to do your best, and subtle peer pressure to do a particular thing. Of course, in the minds of those giving the encouragement, there’s often no distinction. So for a researcher on a fixed-term contract (PhD or post-doc), doing your best means taking the next step on the academic career ladder, doesn’t it?

‘You’re going to be applying for lectureships/professorships, aren’t you? After all that studying? You’d make a great professor’

This is the weight of expectation we face in graduate school, from our well-meaning advisors, family and peers. Maybe we also place this expectation on ourselves, as we’re the kind of person who instinctively strives to reach the next rung on the ladder. Count how many exams, courses, awards and qualifications you’ve racked up over the past twenty years …

It comes as a shock to many doctoral researchers to find out that the academic career ladder has run out of rungs. The number of newly-minted doctoral graduates vastly outweighs the number of academic vacancies (no one is managing the intakes of PhD programmes according to supply and demand principles). Unfortunately, you’re not going to magisterially ascend to a lectureship or professorship in your local university town once you graduate!

Instead, you’ll need figure out how you’re going to make a living in today’s complex and competitive job market. As you approach the end of your doctorate, it’s time to clear your head and take some tough career decisions, free of assumption, expectation or wishful thinking. Do I choose academia or another sector? Do I stay within my discipline or market my transferable skills? What’s my Plan B, in case my Plan A doesn’t work out?

Here are some insights and links to help you navigate today’s challenging job market, post-PhD:

The majority of researchers are now finding employment outside of H.E. after their PhD. In the UK only 19% of doctoral graduates are in a university research role three-and-a-half years later, and only 22% in H.E. teaching and lecturing, according to a Vitae study.

Take action now: Share these statistics and stories with those who have your best interests at heart. Be prepared to challenge their expectations of what you’re going to do next. Make your own choices based on the facts. Explain that you want a job that offers you full, rewarding employment with decent career progression. This may mean your best option is a lateral move into a profession beyond H.E. Or in other words: when you run out of rungs, you need to find another ladder!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on how the weight of other people’s expectations has affected you in the past, or is affecting you now – you can message me, or get in touch via Twitter or Facebook.